Grandview U'uqinak'uuh Community School
Yard

Mission Statement

The Grandview Community Schoolyard project will convert an underused school
field to improve the quality of life for children and other community members in
an inner city neighbourhood. It will also function as a living laboratory and a
model of an urban ecological school yard. This will be a multi-generational place
for children and people of all ages in the community to learn to live more
sustainably in the urban environment. Cultural references will reflect the
neighbourhood population. There are social benefits to each and every part of
our project. Ultimately, our mission is to create a more healthy, positive
neighbourhood environment and improve the livability of the community as a whole.

The Grandview U'uqinak'uuh Community Schoolyard

School Ground Revitalization
Project

Project Outline

Design Information

Issues and Solutions

Features

Planting Plan

The Grandview U'uqinak'uuh School Grounds Revitalization project is part of a
total plan to provide resources at the school that are not available anywhere
else in this community, which is very poor. We intend to make our school a
community resource to serve the whole family, thus providing much needed support
for children in the area even before they start school. Research shows that
neurological pathways for learning develop in infancy. The physical, mental and
social health of families determines learning outcomes for children even before
they enter school. To provide inner city children with resources where the
schools are old and the parents are poor becomes a responsibility of all
concerned about the future of children. As part of the overall school program,
the educational initiatives of our garden project will help to support healthy
child and family development, and will contribute to the improvement of the
neighbourhood as a whole.

The Project

By combining community programming with the outdoor educational uses at
Grandview, the quality of life of the entire neighbourhood can be improved.
Studies show that issues such as safety and vandalism are controlled by
increasing use of school grounds by the community after regular school hours.
This project has the potential to provide healthy activity and education to users
from pre-schoolers to seniors. The school gardens at Grandview offer elementary
school students an enriched real-life curriculum. Cultural references reflect the
neighbourhood population. Please consider the description and benefits of each
part of our project:

The Longhouse Outdoor Classroom: a community gathering place for outdoor learning
and celebration. Design inspired by the Musqueam traditional longhouse.

The School Garden Boxes: life sciences, applied mathematics, language arts, fine
arts, multiculturalism, good health gained by eating the home- grown produce and
through the exercise of gardening; self-sufficiency and increased
self-confidence.

The Natural Habitat for birds, butterflies, hummingbirds and
other insects:

Environmental Restoration, Natural Drainage: shaping one's
environment to invite wildlife back into the city, understanding natural
functions of the environment.

The Community Garden: families work together for
the health and self-satisfaction of growing organic foods.

Skills learned:
gardening, nutrition, cooperation, cooking. Site safety improved by adult
presence during hours when school not in session.

The Ethnobotanical Garden:
cultural and environmental restoration. The First Nations children and families
will learn the native names and uses of local indigenous plants.

Salish Patio and
Drinking Fountain: a public art project created by youths and managed by local
artists; water as the source of life in a place of beauty.

The Bosque: maple tree
species from across Canada; observe and learn about diversity.

Every child and staff member, and interested community members at Grandview have
participated in envisioning and designing the school grounds to be a place of
diverse natural life and beauty. Every child has grown plants from seed and
planted them in the garden boxes built by the grade 7 students. Every child has
eaten the tomatoes and picked the flowers they grew. The staff has formed a
school garden committee; the community has formed a community garden committee.
Britannia Community Services Society has embraced the project as part of it's
mandate in community improvement. The Vancouver School Board has approved the
project.

We have successfully completed Phase I of our grounds' revitalization. Funds have
been procured for the next 2 Phases. It is our sincere hope that we can complete
all five phases during the next year. Our goal is to break ground on March 9,
and to have the Grandview Community Schoolyard completed and functioning in its
many educational and social capacities by the end of summer, 2000.

Mission statement and a brief history of the project

The Grandview Community Schoolyard project will improve the quality of life for
children in an inner city neighbourhood. It will also function as a living
laboratory and a model of an urban ecological school yard. This will be a
multi-generational place for children and people of all ages in the community to
learn to live more sustainably in the urban environment. Ultimately, our mission
is to create a more healthy, positive neighbourhood environment and improve the
community as a whole.

The initiative of the school administrators to improve the learning potential of
the student population by incorporating nature, community and culture into the
teaching curriculum brought Masters of Education student Illene Pevec to conduct
her action research in outdoor learning environments at Grandview. Illene's
quest for a planner and designer for the project attracted Tracy Penner, who was
seeking a sustainable community planning project for her graduating thesis in
landscape architecture. Public design workshops with the students, teachers,
parents and other interested community members informed the final design. The
masterplan reflects the programming interests of all these groups, and integrates
the school with the community in a 'back yard' setting. The cooperation between
the project's executive planning team and the community of parents and students
has been excellent.

Grandview Community Schoolyard has incorporated educational, social, ecological
and economic criteria, in a project that is highly regarded by students, the
community and the school board. Participation by all the young members of the
neighbourhood is an essential part of the plan. The Grandview-Terrace Childcare
has agreed to become the stewards of the butterfly garden with their
preschoolers. Teachers will ensure the school garden remains in good use with
students. Parents and other community members will manage the community gardens,
while a group of native elders and young adults will work together to plan the
ethnobotanical garden. The Environmental Youth Alliance has volunteered to work
with school students to keep the native bird habitat maintained. The Vancouver
School Board has offered to prune the trees and shrubs on site with the high
school students in its' horticulture training program.

Lasting Benefits of the Project

Funds made available by the grant will enable us to build the project so that it
can become a vital part of the neighbourhood. Once complete, this project will be
the first of its kind in the Lower Mainland, and may serve as a model for others
to follow. As crime drops due to greater community participation, there will
likely be less transience in the neighbourhood. We believe that this will result
in more positive participation of students in school, as several precedents in US
cities have shown. The new hands-on aspect of the curriculum enabled by the
schoolyard will teach large motor skills and motivate students toward
self-sufficiency as they see and taste the fruits of their labour. The variety of
activities available to neighbourhood residents will help to compensate for a
lack of private yard and greenspace in this high-density area. Joggers and
dog-walkers from the community will continue to use the site in a more
interesting but controlled way with meandering bark-lined pathways, that leave
the central field area free for re-grading and a more naturalistic playground
experience.

Measuring the Results

First, if people are making greater use of the site, we expect to see a reduction
in crime on the site and the surrounding streets, which at the moment includes
use by vagrants, prostitutes and intravenous drug users. This can be measured by
reports and statistics from the Vancouver Police Department's Grandview-Woodland
police team.

Second, as people feel more comfortable with the neighbourhood, we expect to see
a lower transience rate, which will be reflected in the stability of class
enrollment. Transience can also be determined by neighbourhood city census every
5 years. UBC social psychology students are doing research this year on
students' success and neighbourhood satisfaction, which will be compared by
having a follow-up study done in 3 to 5 years.

Next, we anticipate an improvement in scholastic aptitudes in the students of the
school. This can be measured by comparing current literacy and mathematics test
statistics for grade 4 and 7 students of the school with those in the future. It
will also be possible to measure the success of students coming from Grandview as
they move on through high school, where matriculation rates can be compared.

Finally, if the entire site will be used by different community members, we will
have succeeded in transforming a soggy, barren, dog-soiled field into a vital,
neighbourhood 'backyard'.

By combining community programming with the outdoor educational uses at
Grandview, we believe the quality of life of the entire neighbourhood can be
improved

Grandview Community Schoolyard: W-E Section

Design Strategies

Many design solutions will be gathered from the literature of various
authorities:

Outdoor classroom to resemble the Musqueam long
house in architectural form.

Aboriginal building placement: structure to face
the cardinal directions, south door facing natural area for connection to
nature.

Make use of Salish weaving patterns in paving.

Site the mound where
the prospect will be best-- view of water and sunset.

Improve Community Connections

Locate the outdoor meeting room at the centre of
the crossroads in the site.

Mark territory

Allow for a variety of paths:
children like to move in a straight line

Design for Aesthetic Quality

Complex but ordered--nature should look tended,
the site tidy

Legible--easy to understand; use pattern to achieve this, i.e.
rows of trees

Individuality--student involved in creating elements for the
site, such as creating paving stones, bird bath, bird houses, etc. Uniqueness
gives a place character. Mystery--use meandering paths and strategically place
vegetation to obscure the obvious; however, do not create dangerous places or
places to hide

Issues

Many issues have come to light during public planning workshops conducted with
school and community members.

Lack of park space in this neighbourhood (parks board verifies this).

Need
for more programs for parents and children of this neighbourhood, especially
literacy and life skills.

Desire for more community garden plots in this
neighbourhood.

Site currently has some problems with personal safety on
weekends and evenings--vagrants and IV drug use due to
the lack of use and
surveillance.

Dog defecation on open field impedes use by children.

Field and
playgrounds suffer from poor drainage conditions.

First Nations culture is
important part of this neighbourhood.

Design Solutions

Create a series of 'outdoor rooms' to accommodate diverse programming needs
and to respond to the presence of fences for safety and security. Strengthen
connections between 'rooms' through design of pathways, gateways, use of a common
palette of materials, and borrowed views.

Create new opportunities for education and play in a natural out door setting.

Increase security and safety by designing so that no place is visually
obscure.

Include First Nations culture and tradition: in an ethnobotanical garden and
in aboriginal architectural styles for built landscape: outdoor classroom,
creative play areas, the parent centre, gates and corridors.

Palette to consist primarily of local west coast materials: red and yellow
cedar, local stone, crushed granite, river rock, woven twigs, etc., to promote
sustainability.

Maintain tidiness and aesthetic quality throughout the year through formal
arrangement of garden and public areas adjacent to buildings.

Create a natural edge along the southern perimeter to provide a wind break,
and to extend habitat value to Grandview Cut natural area. Connect to native
ethnobotanical garden.

Make places for sitting: -alone or with another - to rest from gardening work
- to watch nature - to watch children play - to learn and celebrate with others

Design to enable visual access to increase safety. Brighten up dark corners
and create opportunities for surveillance on site wherever possible. Keep
hedging and shrubbery open.

Unifying Theme

The site plan and design details will unite under the theme of reconnecting
people to nature and nature to cities. To do this, I will use some knowledge
from various sources of First Nations site planning and construction techniques,
social design principles and ecological restoration.

Design Elements

These lists have been generated from information gathered during the precedent
studies, site analysis, meetings with stakeholders, and public workshops. They
make up a 'kit of parts' with which to design the site.

The Design Features of the Grandview Community Schoolyard

The community garden: 24 plots of 3m by 3m, plus a raspberry patch and plenty
of fencing to support kiwi, grapes and espaliered fruit trees. Work tables and
storage benches are located along the south edge of the space; a tool shed is
planned as well. Gateways should be celebrated with trellis and signage created
by the community.

The bosque: relaxing in the shade, hiding or playing tag between the trees,
the bosque offers transition between the active play area of the basketball
courts and the quieter community gardens. It also provides much needed variety
in texture and form to the open spaces surrounding it. Trees should be Maple
species of Canada as these trees grow well in this climate, and will provide a
cultural and historical teaching value.

The outdoor classroom: a sheltered
place to sit in the rain or on hot sunny days--for up to 40 people; a place to
conduct classes for the school and the community, to watch basketball from, watch
performances, act in plays, do a dance, hold a drum fest.

The feature landmark:
may be a totem, a drinking fountain or something else, but --it must be
special enough to attract attention from a distance; it marks the entrance to the
community gardens and the outdoor classroom, and the 'heart' of the schoolyard

The school garden: a place to dig, grow and learn

The butterfly garden: beds
of shrubs and perennials, radially arranged around a bird bath; covered bench for
quiet observation, even on rainy days. Plant list is comprised mostly of native
species to provide habitat for some of the more rare butterfly species. See plant
list following

The hummingbird garden: a less formal arrangement, making use
of the existing grove of birch trees to the south (using these to hang bird
feeders), and the outer edge of the butterfly garden to the north. Many of the
shrub species which attract butterflies also attract hummingbirds. See plant list
following

The Mound: looking over, huddling under, sliding down--with water
in summer, with snow in winter; rolling down, racing carts down, marching up,
standing at the summit, sitting at the lookout, having lunch with friends, the
mound has a 'maze' pathway formed of stones set in a spiral pattern. Boulders
large enough for sitting are located at the summit.

The dissipation pond:
created of gravel, crushed stone, sand and crushed shell, this alleviates the
poor drainage problems by being the lowest point on the site and having
fast-draining surface materials. This is a more ecologically sound means of
depositing water back into the ground water system, creates new habitat potential
and offers an unusual experience for sledders and others using the mound as a
slide.

The ethnobotanical garden: edible native plants, used by west coast
aboriginal peoples, will be cultivated and arranged in a formal planting along
the more formal community garden edge, creating a sanctuary area to the north of
the Variety Centre, and blending into the naturalized wild bird habitat as it
moves to the south. A sunny patio area will be constructed at the south east
corner of the Variety centre. See plant list following.

The Grandview U'Uqinak'Uuh Community Schoolyard Plant List

Criterion for selection of plant materials are:

Plants support native animal
or insect life.

Plants have traditional value to aboriginal people.

Plants are suited to the microclimatic conditions, particularily with respect to their
summer drought and winter wet tolerance.